http://web.archive.org/web/20051211125753/http://lotronline.decipher.com:80/cultures/rohan/card_gamling.shtml

by Keith Walton

He was one of Theoden's most trusted lieutenants.

With the introduction of The Battle of Helm's Deep expansion, Rohan has gained a special ability not seen before: the ability to play possessions outside of the fellowship phase for a benefit (as if playing a possession and not paying the twilight before the shadow phase wasn't enough). Eowyn is usually the front runner, as she can heal herself, with Theoden healing allies, which can then pump the Riders, or heal them again next turn, but Gamling is a fighter, not a healer.

Not only is Gamling “Valiant”, a keyword often important to most Rohan strategies, but special ability is something that can be tailored to a specific situation. The obvious use is to play weapons on him, giving him not only the +2 for his text, but also the weapon bonus. If he is mounted, giving him a Rider's Spear makes him +4 and damage +2! The same thing can be done against Uruk-Hai with the Sword of Rohan. If that isn't enough, a pump card or maybe a Bow should give him the strength needed to make sure that most minions not only lose, but get quite trampled as well.

There are more devious ways to use his text though. With the right set up, you can make Gamling defender +1 during the maneuver phase, giving your opponent the idea that he is going to “take one for the team.” Then, during the skirmish phase, you put some Heavy Chain on him, preventing him from being overwhelmed. Alternately, if they play something like a Lurtz's Battle Cry to give him extra wounds, a nicely timed King's Mail can save him from the dead pile.

Just in case Gamling is already wounded, or if he's not going to win the skirmish, no matter how much you try, just being able to play a Rohirrim Shield, so that you can heal him during regroup, is priceless. His ability can even be used to get around the “1 of each type of item” limitation, though only for items that can be discarded during the skirmish phase, such as the Rohirrim Helm, which you can discard to cancel skirmishes.

Add in a Rohirrim Scout to take possessions back into hand during the regroup phase, and you can be assured that Gamling will always have something to play during the skirmish phase, though you should be careful of clogging your hand up this way.

It should be fairly easy to see by now why Gamling was held in such regard by Theoden - his versatility and ferocity would make any king feel safe.

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